So if you’re going to be making an “existential erotic thriller,” you could do much worse than hiring these three lovely and talented thesps who are joining Jake Gyllenhaal in this intriguing little project.

Isabella Rossellini (legend), Melanie Laurent (“Beginners“) and Sarah Gadon (“A Dangerous Method,” “Cosmopolis“) have all signed on the dotted line for “An Enemy,” set to be directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (“Incendies“). That’s a pretty great collection of talent all around. Based on the book by literary titan José Saramago, and adapted by Javier Gullón, the story follows a history teacher (Gyllenhaal) who lives with his wife (Laurent) only to discover the couple has an exact physical double (with Gadon playing Laurent’s opposite). The two Jakes become entwined in a “lethal struggle.”

Certainly all the ingredients are there, but it will be interesting to see if this Saramago adaptation can crack the nut and at least approach the brilliance of his writing. The few attempts in the past (most notably “Blindness“) didn’t gain great traction or reviews, so fingers crossed here. Production begins on May 22nd in Toronto and rights will be up for grabs at Cannes. [ScreenDaily]